2 Marines sentenced for trespassing during Confederate rally

GRAHAM, N.C. – Two U.S. Marines have been sentenced for trespassing during a Confederate Memorial Day rally in North Carolina in May.

News outlets report Camp Lejeune Staff Sgt. Joseph W. Manning and Cherry Point Sgt. Michael Joseph Chesny entered Alford pleas Tuesday. They maintained their innocence but admitted there was sufficient evidence for a conviction. They were sentenced to time already served.

Police said they climbed atop a building in Graham and unfurled a banner that read, in part, "YWNRU," which stands for "You will not replace us," the slogan chanted by white nationalist demonstrators who protested removal of a Confederate monument in Charlottesville, Virginia.

A Marine spokesman has said Manning was being processed for discharge. A Cherry Point spokesman said Wednesday that Chesny is being considered for promotion to staff sergeant.